Sprint Announces Kyocera Torque Rugged Android Smartphone (UPDATE)

Sprint just announced the Kyocera Torque, a new Android smartphone that will be available this spring. Oddly, the phone runs Android 4.0 instead of Android 4.1 or Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, but at least it packs a few noteworthy specs. For one, it meets mil-spec 810G standards for ruggedness and is resistant against water, dust, shock, vibration and other extremes.

Sprint didn’t announce pricing or an exact release date, and we’re expecting that Google’s latest version of Android will be revealed in May, so we’re really stunned this device is launching with Ice Cream Sandwich.

Update: Kyocera just reached out with clarification as to why the phone will launch with ICS instead of Jelly Bean: “Torque features Sprint Direct Connect push-to-talk service, based on QChat technology from Qualcomm. Currently, while Ice Cream Sandwich is supported, there is not a version of QChat that supports Jelly Bean. Once Jelly Bean (or beyond) is supported by QChat, Kyocera will look at an OS upgrade for Torque.”